by John O’Connor SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — The Chicago Transit Authority on Friday filed a federal lawsuit seeking restoration of $2 billion in commuter rail expansion funding that President Donald Trump’s administration stopped last fall. The action, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, contends the administration acted arbitrarily in halting transit construction money for the city in an effort to restrict race- and gender-based contracting, which it believes is unconstitutional. It names the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transportation Authority as defendants. The Transportation Department responded that it is trying to choke off a “discriminatory” and “illegal” contracting…

by Mathew Lee and Aamer Madhani WASHINGTON  — The Cuban government has refused a request by the U.S. Embassy in Havana to allow it to import diesel for its generators while the Trump administration continues to impose a fuel blockade on the island, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said Friday. The government turned down the request as the U.S. State Department has been weighing a reduction in staffing at the embassy in the Cuban capital of Havana because of the lack of diesel. Such a move would likely lead to a U.S. demand for a similar reduction in…

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears brought back Jack Sanborn for a second stint on Wednesday, signing the Chicago-area linebacker to a one-year contract. Sanborn, who’s from Lake Zurich, Ill., entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin with the Bears in 2022. He started 19 of the 48 games he played in over three seasons in Chicago. Sanborn signed last March with Dallas and reunited with former Bears coach Matt Eberflus, the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator last season. He was limited to five starts and six games because of a concussion and groin injury. Sanborn…

by Sophia Tareen CHICAGO  — Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, edging out two sitting members of the U.S. House to advance to a November general election against Republican nominee Don Tracy, the former state party chair. The retirement of U.S. Sen Dick Durbin, the Senate’s longtime No. 2 Democrat, triggered a competitive campaign on the Democratic side, drawing as candidates Stratton and U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, among others. Furious fundraising and sharp elbows marked the race, which tested the influence of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. The governor, whose name has…

by Aamer Madhani, Darlene Superville and Michelle L. Price WASHINGTON  — President Donald Trump said Tuesday NATO and most other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, grousing that he has been unable to rally support behind his war of choice in Iran that he insists he’s conducting for the good of the world, even if it doesn’t appreciate his effort. Trump, who has been pressing allies to help safeguard the critical waterway to ease a chokepoint on the region’s oil exports, fumed that the U.S. is not getting support “despite the fact that we…

by Collin Binkley WASHINGTON  — President Donald Trump is delaying a diplomatic trip to China that had been planned for months but began to unravel as he pressured Beijing and other world powers to use military might to protect the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Tuesday while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office that he would be going to China in five or six weeks’ time instead of at the end of the month. He said he would be “resetting” his visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, without elaborating. Trump’s visit to China is seen…

by Sophia Tareen CHICAGO  — Illinois voters are deciding primaries Tuesday for six open U.S. House and Senate seats that will spur a new generation of leadership in the state’s heavily Democratic congressional delegation. The retirement of longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, has triggered a competitive campaign, drawing as candidates two sitting House members and the lieutenant governor, among others. Sharp elbows and furious fundraising have marked the race, which also is a test of the influence of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire whose name is floated as a 2028 presidential contender. A spate of House retirements has…

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — At least 23 people were killed and more than 100 injured following suspected suicide bombings Monday night that targeted Maiduguri city in northeastern Nigeria, police said Tuesday, one of the deadliest attacks in the conflict-battered city in recent history. Residents and emergency services earlier told The Associated Press that three explosions were reported in crowded places in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, including in a major market and at the entrance of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. “Regrettably, a total of twenty three (23) persons lost their lives, while one hundred and eight (108)…

by Associated Press CHICAGO  — Josh Giddey had 16 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists for his fourth triple-double in five games, and the Chicago Bulls blew out Memphis 132-107 on Monday night to hand the depleted Grizzlies their eighth straight loss. Giddey is third in the NBA with 12 triple-doubles this season, trailing Nikola Jokic (27) of the Denver Nuggets and Jalen Johnson (13) of the Atlanta Hawks. Giddey is averaging 17.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists, all career highs. The fifth-year guard has been limited to 46 games this season by hamstring and ankle injuries. Matas Buzelis…

by Darlene Superville WASHINGTON  — John Wrory Ficklin was 7 when he learned that his father, the son of a slave, was important. It was 1963, and the nation was mourning President John F. Kennedy. Wrory Ficklin was sitting with his mother and brother, watching funeral coverage on TV in the family’s Washington apartment, when she gasped. His father, James Woodson Ficklin, was wearing a morning suit and standing beside Kennedy’s casket with other White House ushers. He was a White House butler at the time, but Kennedy’s widow, Jacqueline, asked that he join the ushers that day. Woodson Ficklin…